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The MSI K9A2 Platinum is built on AMDs venerable 790FX and SB600 chipsets, which incorporate Hypertransport 3.0 and bus speeds of up to 2600MHz.
81% Rating: 
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Motherboard Benchmarks: PCMark 05, Conclusions
PCMark05 is a premium tool for measuring
both normal home use and simple 3D performance of the latest PC hardware. There
are 11 system tests - each one is designed to represent a certain type of PC
usage. By running these tests, PCMark05 stresses the components in a similar
manner as they are stressed in normal home usage.
 PCMark05: |
| Overall |
Points |
Ranking |
| Foxconn
975X7AA-8EKRS2H (975X 200/667) |
8276 |
   |
| ASRock
AM2V890-VSTA (K8T890 200/800) |
6643 |
   |
| MSI K9N SLI
Platinum (NF 570 SLI 200/800) |
6729 |
|
| Foxconn C51XEM2AA
(NF 590 SLI 200/800) |
6707 |
|
| Asus M2N32SLI-DLX
(NF 590 SLI 200/800) |
6496 |
|
| Biostar TForce
6100 AM2 (GF 6100 200/800) |
6809 |
|
| Albatron
KM51PV-AM2 (GF6150 200/800) |
6915 |
|
 MSI
K9A2 Platinum (AMD790 200/800) |
7037 |
   |
| CPU |
Points |
Ranking |
| Foxconn
975X7AA-8EKRS2H (975X 200/667) |
5313 |
|
| ASRock
AM2V890-VSTA (K8T890 200/800) |
5694 |
|
| MSI K9N SLI
Platinum (NF 570 SLI 200/800) |
5706 |
|
| Foxconn C51XEM2AA
(NF 590 SLI 200/800) |
5729 |
|
| Asus M2N32SLI-DLX
(NF 590 SLI 200/800) |
5716 |
|
| Biostar TForce
6100 AM2 (GF 6100 200/800) |
5761 |
|
| Albatron
KM51PV-AM2 (GF6150 200/800) |
5727 |
|
| MSI
K9A2 Platinum (AMD790 200/800) |
5766 |
|
| Memory |
Points |
Ranking |
| Foxconn
975X7AA-8EKRS2H (975X 200/667) |
4121 |
|
| ASRock
AM2V890-VSTA (K8T890 200/800) |
5085 |
|
| MSI K9N SLI
Platinum (NF 570 SLI 200/800) |
5183 |
|
| Foxconn C51XEM2AA
(NF 590 SLI 200/800) |
5216 |
|
| Asus M2N32SLI-DLX
(NF 590 SLI 200/800) |
5072 |
|
| Biostar TForce
6100 AM2 (GF 6100 200/800) |
5066 |
|
| Albatron
KM51PV-AM2 (GF6150 200/800) |
5196 |
|
| MSI
K9A2 Platinum (AMD790 200/800) |
5231 |
| |
PCMark05 results for the MSI K9A2 Platinum are in the
middle of the pack. It's good, but the motherboard can't really separate itself
from the rest of these AMD platforms either.
Conclusions - How does MSI's K9A2 Platinum Motherboard stack
up?
 When it comes to building and
AMD socket AM2 computer system for gaming or general computing needs, value is the key word. The MSI K9A2 Platinum holds up
well against comparable motherboards, and most importantly offers a lot of
value, particularly for users in search of a 2/3/4-way Crossfire friendly
platform.
As an AMD platform, the AMD 790FX chipset offers a
suitable number of PCI Express lanes for dual graphics cards to run with 16 PCI
Express lanes apiece, and in the benchmarks the board competes well against.
When faced off against an Intel Core 2 Duo platform, well.... AMD's obvious
handicaps become visible. Still, in the world of value gaming platforms, AMD
processors and boards like the MSI K9A2 Platinum (retailing for about $160) have
a lot to offer.
The MSI K9A2 Platinum motherboard is aimed squarely at value
conscious gamers who realistically want to run a pair of ATI videocards in
Crossfire with their existing Socket AM2 AMD Phenom/Sempron/Athlon64 processor.
The board can accommodate up to 4-way Crossfire, but in our opinion this isn't a
very realistic usage scenario (cost of the four videocards and suitable power
supply is very high). The K9A2 Platinum more than meets the needs of gamers.
In terms of integrated features, on the K9A2 Platinum
you'll find Gigabit networking, 7.1 channel High Definition Azalia audio, IEEE
1394a, Serial ATA II (6 internal, 2 external) and plenty of USB 2.0. There are
two PCI Express x16 slots care of the AMD 790FX chipset that operate in x16/x16
mode with dual Crossfire videocards, a further two which operate in x8/x8 mode
for other PCI Express devices, two PCI slots for legacy gear and one PCI Express
x1 slot.
MSI
Computer has included all the necessary gear with this board, though we do
wish it had supplied more brackets.... There are three USB headers, but only one
USB bracket. If you run into problems, the User's Manual is well written and
easy to read. The passive chipset cooling system works very well, and best of
all is totally quiet.
In terms of performance the MSI K9A2 Platinum handled
like every other Socket AM2 motherboard that PCSTATS has tested recently. That
doesn't mean it's bad, it just explains why the results are so flat. While AMD's
processors have lost the lustre they once commanded over Intel's processor
offerings, for those who already have a socket AM2 chip and want the capability
of running twin AMD Crossfire compatible videocards at a full 16 PCI Express 2.0
lanes each the MSI K9A2 Platinum delivers. As a value conscious gaming platform,
it makes a good upgrade option for any user who want to migrate from single-GPU
to multi-GPU gaming and reap the advantages that all that extra gaming hardware
entails!
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